Unlikely Friendship
by GenvieveWoolf
Summary: Griffin finds another person who likes to go crazy with his car--and his video games. T just to be safe. Jumper/Death Note crossover.
1. Impulsive Decision

_I don't normally do crossovers, and I've never written a Jumper story before, but since I saw Death Note and Jumper, I keep thinking that Griffin and Matto have a lot in common. So I decided to see what happens when you put them together. :)_

_SPOILERS: serious late-series spoilers for Death Note, plot-related spoilers for Jumper. You should probably read/watch both DN and Jumper before reading this story or you won't find it terribly interesting--at the least you'll be slightly lost. *wink*_

_This is "Chapter one." I'm hoping to continue it eventually, if anyone shows interest._

_NEWS for those of you waiting for updates on Riddle's Legacy and the Journey Home: I have decided I can afford a computer and I hope to have a new one within a couple of weeks! This means I may finally get back in gear and update those ancient stories! (omg spaz!)_

_Disclaimers: Jumper, Griffin, Death Note, Mail Jeevas, Nintendo DS and Pokemon Emerald are definitely not mine. Jael Malorie certainly is mine._

* * *

Griffin walked down a street in Japan, munching the hot dog he'd gotten from a street vendor in New York, and prepared to jump back to his lair. Then he heard squealing tires. A bright red car had barely made the turn from the corner in front of him and now it was careening right toward him.

It was no trouble to jump from the street to the narrow sidewalk, but Griffin scowled at the car as it sped past. Then he heard more tires squealing and turned to see two cars fishtail around the corner after the first.

Always one to appreciate a good car chase, Griffin jumped to a rooftop to watch the progress of the first car. _Wonder if he'll make it. Bloke's not a bad driver._ He jumped along from one building to another, keeping the car and its pursuers in sight.

_Oh, rotten luck,_ Griffin thought, seeing that there were several black cars converging on the first car's location. _Looks like he's had it. Even the best driver can't get through a solid wall of cars._

Sure enough, the red car was soon surrounded by a tight ring of sinister-looking black ones. The driver stepped out and Griffin noted his interesting taste--red and black striped shirt under a warm-looking vest, goggles. He was smoking a cigarette. The other drivers got out, too, and levelled guns at the young man with the stripes.

_He looks like just a kid... wonder why they're after him._ Griffin couldn't hear what the kid was saying. Apparently it didn't impress the men in suits, because they gunned him down a moment later. "Oh... crap, that's definitely not fair..."

Next thing he knew, the sleek black cars were leaving.

"He's dead," Griffin muttered to himself. "Gotta be dead." He took another bite of his hot dog. "Mmm.... might as well make sure." He wrapped the hot dog carefully and put it in his pocket before jumping down beside the victim who lay beside his car.

"Hey, you... you alive?"

No response.

Griffin knelt, grimacing as he touched what he was sure was a corpse. _Looks like the head wound is just a graze... but he's got... __how__ many holes in his chest? Not good._

He wasn't sure why he cared, but Griffin put two fingers to the victim's throat and waited.

_Good God, he's still... wait, did I imagine it? There it is! He's alive!_ There was only one thing for it. Griffin pulled the boy up into his arms and jumped to a hospital in Liverpool, England.

"Somebody get over here, this man's dying!" Griffin shouted as soon as the familiar ER came into view. "You've got maybe two minutes!"

An EMT and a nurse rushed to the place Griffin was standing, hunched under the weight of his blood-soaked burden.

"There's no way," the EMT muttered. "Looks to me like his heart and both lungs..."

"Shut up and get to work, SOB," Griffin snapped. "Bring me a gurney and get Doctor Malorie on this--he's her patient." Lying was so easy. And so was giving orders. _You can convince people too many blackberries will turn their skin purple if you say it with enough confidence_.

Lies or no, the gurney appeared in moments, and Dr. Malorie was soon walking briskly alongside it toward the ICU.

"You can't come back here," she told Griffin.

"Right. Sorry." He hung back until he was sure no one would notice, then jumped ahead to the operating room.

"Who are you?!" Doctors demanded.

"Next of kin," Griffin said. "Your patient may need a blood transfusion. I've gotta be on-hand--he doesn't look good."

Soon Dr. Malorie and her assistants were pushing Matt's gurney through the doors to the OR. "Why are you here?" she demanded in a dangerous tone when she saw Griffin.

"Like I said, next of kin--in case of blood transfusion..."

The lady doctor shook her head. "When this is over, I am going to kill you. Do you even know this guy's blood type?"

"No," Griffin admitted. "But please save him."

"He doesn't look like he's related to you," she muttered, getting down to business as the nurses pulled the boy's clothes back. "I'd say he looks Asian."

"Um... he was adopted."

"In that case your blood transfusion argument goes out the window--which is where I'd like to send you."

"Couldda been worse," Griffin muttered.

"Seriously," Malorie said, fastening on a surgical mask, "you can't do any good here. But you could sure mess things up. Please wait in the waiting room."

He knew she was right. Griffin slunk out of the OR and jumped back to the waiting room. _He'll probably be in there for hours, _he thought. _Unless he dies, of course._ He looked around the room at the worried friends and family of the patients who had been brought to the ER that day. _I don't belong here..._

A moment later he was back in Japan--back at the bright red car which now had several holes in the hood and windshield. _Sort of lousy car... he was at a disadvantage to begin with... looks like a bloody stick-shift._ He leaned in the driver's door, which had been standing open since he left. _Junker. Pretty clean, though. Hey..._ He crawled onto the seat and leaned down to retrieve something from the floor of the passenger's side. _Is this a DS? Wicked. He'll want this back._ He checked the glove compartment, but there was nothing useful--no vehicle registration or even an operator's manual.

He turned on the DS and found Pokemon Emerald paused in the middle of a battle. He smiled. _I remember this game. Think I've still got it someplace..._

Griffin pulled out what was left of his hot dog and ate it thoughtfully, wandering around the Japanese back streets, wondering who his young protege was.

* * *

"Griffin?"

Griffin opened his eyes immediately. Very few people knew his name. Who was calling him?

"Your friend--we've gotten all the bullets out."

He blinked. "My... fr-- Hey, what time is it?"

Dr. Malorie checked her watch. "It's about five a.m. You slept in that chair all night?"

"Not quite.... So, you got the bullets out. So, he's alive."

"For now. But there's no telling how long he'll last. We had to give him a bypass while we repaired his aorta and things don't look good for his right lung. He really needs a new heart, but there isn't one available, so we're trying to patch the one he's got."

"What are his chances?"

She sighed. "Around five percent, I'd say."

_One in twenty... geez, I thought that was about what he had when I first brought him in. Is he really going to die on me after all that?_ "OK," he said. "I guess... we just have to hope. I know you'll do your best."

She sat in the chair next to his. "Before I fall over from exhaustion, can you tell me something about this guy? How do you know him? What happened to him?"

"Listen, love," Griffin said, turning toward her, "I'll tell you the truth, but I really need you to promise you won't tell anyone how I'm involved..."

She slapped him hard. "You have no right to ask anything from me," she said, keeping her voice quiet, but maintaining a dangerous tone. "It's been what--three years? And suddenly you show up again. And all you can do is ask favors. No apology, no explanation, no _warning!_ And you expect me to just help you out..."

"I'm sorry. I left to protect you. And I couldn't give warning--the guy was shot like bloody fifteen times."

Dr. Malorie leaned forward and put her head in her hands, massaging her temples. "Just tell me, please. I need to know where this guy came from."

"I can't give details. I think he's from Japan. I dunno who shot him or why--it was a bunch of guys--ten at least. But don't bother telling the police that, because they won't find a trace of them around here. It'd be a wild goose chase."

"How did you get him here so fast?"

"That's a detail," Griffin said. "I'm sorry, Jael. I really am. But it wouldn't make sense even if I explained it. I don't know the guy. I just saw him get shot and decided to see if I could save him."

"Out of the goodness of your heart?" she asked skeptically.

He shrugged. "If he ever wakes up, he'll tell you he doesn't know me. That's the truth."

"It's really fishy."

"I agree, but I can't help it." He eyed her a moment. "Look... I know it was really low--the way I left you all of a sudden. But there are things you don't know about me. Things I can't tell you. I've never been able to stick with any girl more than a date or two. It's not because I'm scared of the relationship. It's because there are people who would hurt you to get to me. I don't want to do that to you. Or anyone."

"I don't understand," Jael said, her head still in her hands. "It sounds too crazy to be true--and too convenient an excuse."

"Would you rather I lied to you?"

"I can't tell when you're lying anyway. It probably wouldn't make much difference." She stood slowly. "I need to go home and get some sleep. You should, too."

He waited until she left the room. Then he jumped to his lair for a nap.

* * *

_Don't forget to let me know if you enjoyed it and if you would like to see more on this idea!_


	2. Patience

As usual, Death Note and Jumper are not mine, nor are the characters that originated in them. Jael is my character, though. ;) I humbly apologize if my Japanese is off. I admit, I don't really know the language.

* * *

Griffin returned to the hospital a few hours later to check on the patient, but there was no apparent change in his condition, so he spent the day in London and went to Jael's house around sunset.

"You..." Jael stared at him. "You came here. Where do you get the nerve, anyway?"

"Dunno," Griffin shrugged. "Just thought I'd see if you'd listen to a second apology."

Jael leaned on the door. "What's the point? You don't think I'll take you back, do you?"

"No, not really. I just... I guess I don't want you to go on being unhappy about what happened--"

"Who's unhappy? I figure I had a narrow escape with you."

"Kay, I deserved that," he said, looking down.

Jael sighed. "Are you sticking to your story that you left me for my own good?"

"Yeah. There's people who want me dead. Lots of them. But one in particular. And he's got no limits on what he'll do to get to me. I don't want him hurting you or anyone else because of me."

"And why does he want to kill you?"

"He claims it's some sort of righteous crusade. I think he's just jealous 'cause he can't do what I do, but... either way, he's a bit demented."

"Or you are," Jael muttered. "So what am I supposed to tell the police about your friend?"

"Tell 'em... tell 'em a stranger brought him in and disappeared after."

"But you're not planning to disappear, are you?"

"Who, me? I'm not the guy who brought him in--what are you talking about?" Griffin said innocently.

"You're not convincing. And with the way you acted at the hospital, I doubt there's a single intern that wouldn't remember you."

"Then maybe I should wait until the guy's stable before I go to see him again... maybe he'll have some bright ideas about how to answer questions..."

"You don't even know his name?"

Griffin shook his head. "Nope. That's the absolute truth, Jael. I barely know more about him than you do."

"So, what do you know about him that I don't?"

"He's... a pretty good driver. And people want him dead, too. Not sure why. Maybe that's why I wanted to help him. Sticking up for the underdog, you know."

----

Jael never did let him into her house, but she seemed willing to accept his story, at least for now. He waited around for a few days, once in a while showing up to ask Jael if the patient had showed any signs of improvement. Finally, his dedication was rewarded.

"He's not out of danger yet," she told him cautiously, "but his heart seems to be healing. If it keeps on this way and there aren't any complications, he could make a full recovery."

"Odds?" Griffin asked.

"I'd give him at least ten, maybe twenty percent."

"Well, that's a lot better than five," Griffin breathed.

"Yes. Of course, the longer he stays unconscious, the weaker he'll be when he wakes up. He's taking the intravenous all right, but his muscles aren't getting any exercise. Even when if his heart and lung heal well, he'll need a lot of care for a few weeks. Also, we have no way of knowing how serious his head wound was. There's a possibility of memory or vision loss."

"Oh... damn, I hadn't even thought of that."

"We don't know who his family is," Jael went on, "so we have no one to send the bill to. We have no medical history for him. It's all good Samaritan work right now... but he's going to need someone who will look after him. He can't just stay at the hospital indefinitely. If we can't reach his family, are you willing to do that for him?"

"Um... sure. Yeah. I kind of figured I might need to." Griffin imagined someone else in his lair. That was weird. It just didn't happen. Ever. _Maybe I could rent a cottage or something for a while..._

Jael looked slightly surprised. "Well... good. If you have any problems, you can call me..."

"I can call you?" Griffin asked, grinning. "There's a step in the right direction."

She scowled. "Maybe I'll just give you my work number..."

----

The boy's heart continued to heal. The hospital staff had begun to call it a small miracle.

"Twenty, maybe even ten years ago, this wouldn't have been possible," Jael told Griffin. "Even now, it's very remarkable. Plenty could still go wrong, but... I'll give him fifty-fifty now."

Griffin smiled. He wasn't sure why, but he realized now that somewhere along the way, he had gotten a little attached to his protege, and hearing that he might very well live made him inexplicably happy. "When d'you think he'll wake up?" he asked.

"It could still be a long time... then again, it could be tomorrow. There's just no telling."

After that, Griffin visited the patient twice per day, and at last, his vigilence paid off.

Griffin was thinking about leaving to get some sleep when he glanced over and saw that the boy's eyes were open. He sat up and watched him, wondering if he should say something.

The boy looked around the room, then rested his gaze on Griffin for a long moment before asking, * _"Doko made hanashi mashi ta ka?"_

Griffin blinked. _Right... Japanese... "Anata ga nyuin chu da,"_ he answered. _"Eigo wo hanase masu ka?" *_

"Yes," the boy answered.

"Good," Griffin said, smiling. "I'm ok at Chinese, but my Japanese is pretty damn limited."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the guy who saved your life. Who are you?"

The boy thought for so long that Griffin supposed he must have memory loss, as Jael had suggested. Then he said, "I'm Matto."

"Matto? Got any family?"

Matto shook his head.

"Can you tell me what happened to you?"

"Are we in England?"

Griffin was pulled up short. "How'd you know that?" he asked.

"Your accent, along with everything in the room being printed in English, followed by Chinese, Arabic or French... it adds up."

_Hmm... he's an observant little devil,_ Griffin thought.

"Also... I lived in England several years. There's a certain feel."

"Yeah," Griffin agreed. "So, tell me--who was it tried to kill you, and why?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you that," Matto said. "You're obviously not one of them, but that doesn't mean you're not working for Kira."

"Kira? That guy who's murdering criminals? Is that what this is about? Don't tell me I rescued a killer..."

"I'm no killer. I'm with the people trying to stop Kira. Who are you with?"

"I'm freelance," Griffin declared. " I happened to see your car chase, and that got me interested. Not a bad piece of driving."

"Thanks."

"Then I saw you get gunned down, thought it was a bloody waste and brought you here."

"To England."

"Er... yeah."

Matto frowned. "How long have I been unconcious?"

"I dunno... more than a week. Closer to two, I think."

"Oh. And... has Kira been caught, do you know?"

"I don't think so... but I don't really follow the case. Got enough problems of my own," Griffin explained.

"Then why did you help me?"

"Cause I bloody felt like it. Want me to put you back where I found you? I can do that."

"No... I'm sorry. Please excuse my rudeness. What did you say your name was?"

"Griffin."

"Thank you, Griffin. For saving my life. When will I be able to leave the hospital?"

"It'll probably be a while, because you're really weak and stuff. But once you can, I'll look after you until you're well, ok?"

Matto nodded. "Thank you," he said again. "I am greatly in your debt."

"Don't worry about it. I'd better let your doctor know you're awake now." Griffin had many more questions for Matto, but he knew if he was patient, he'd get to ask them later.

* * *

Please remember to review if you want to see more! If there's no interest, I may not bother continuing this one. It was kind of a whim.

* Unless I'm mistaken, Matt said "Where am I?" Griffin answered, "You are in hospital. Do you speak English?" I could be way off... if you know Japanese, I'd appreciate help. X)


	3. Crazy

_Well, here is chapter 3. xp I really ought to be writing something salable instead, but FF comes easier, as I'm sure you understand (and hopefully appreciate ;D )_

* * *

"I'm very glad that's over," Matto told Griffin when the latter wheeled him out of the hospital.

"You're telling me. You were in therapy longer than you were unconscious," Griffin complained. "Can hardly believe they finally released you."

"You had to lie a lot, didn't you."

"Well…" Griffin thought back on the crazy explanations he and Jael had come up with to satisfy her coworkers and the police. "Depends on what you call a lot…"

"Guess it's better if I don't ask things like that."

"Yeah, probably."

"So where exactly are you taking me now?"

"Mm… somewhere."

Matto set the wheelchair's brakes and Griffin nearly fell on top of him.

"Hey!"

"Just because I'm an invalid doesn't mean I don't have the right to know where you're taking me."

_He's gotten really feisty lately,_ Griffin thought, remembering the therapy sessions he'd visited. As the patient regained his strength, he'd become much less meek and humble. He was starting to show real attitude. "Look, I need to take you somewhere that we can talk properly, all right?" he said, leaning on the chair's handles. "Then I'll be able to explain a lot more."

Matto released the brakes and this time Griffin nearly fell on the ground behind him as the chair rolled forward. "Sure," he said.

Griffin scowled but said nothing.

He took Matto out of the city by taxi and then wheeled him a ways down a country road until they were far from any passersby. "From here on you'll need to be blindfolded," he said.

Matto narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Afraid I'll lead someone to your hide-out?"

"Afraid you'll come back when I don't want you," Griffin muttered. "Just humor me, all right? Like I said, I'll explain more later."

After that Matto allowed himself to be blindfolded. Griffin suspected his charge was going to try to use his senses other than sight to remember the way to the lair. He smiled to himself as he pushed the wheelchair this way and that to confuse Matto. Then he stopped it and leaned down by Matto's ear.

"OK, now I need you to hold still and stay calm," he said, slipping his arms around Matto's shoulders.

Matto jumped and tried to pull away. "Wait—please—"

"Whoa, whoa, it's all right," Griffin said, doing his best to keep a firm hold without hurting Matto. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything…though if you don't keep still, I dunno. You might lose a limb or something…"

"What the hell are you going to do?" Matto demanded.

"We're nearly there, I promise. "D'you really think I'd take you to the hospital and watch over you for weeks just to kill you out here?"

At that, Matto relaxed. He settled back in the wheelchair.

"That's better. You can trust me, Matto. Just hold on. We're nearly there."

Matto gripped Griffin's forearm tightly.

Griffin jumped them right into the middle of the lair. Matto muttered some choice phrases in Japanese when they arrived.

"It's all right, we're there—you can take the blindfold off now."

Matto didn't need to be told twice. "What was that? What did you do? Where are we?"

"Look around. This is the Lair."

Matto looked around. "You… you're insane," he concluded. "I want to leave now, please."

"Come on, give me a chance. You're hunting a faceless, nameless killer, right? The people I hunt have names and faces. My charts and diagrams… they may look like so much mindless crap to you, but if you'll just let me explain…"

Matto's eyes roved around the room and came to rest on Griffin's entertainment center.

"You _are_ a gamer," Griffin said, smiling. "This yours?" he retrieved the DS from the shelf where he'd stowed it weeks before.

"Where did you get this?" Matto asked. He took the DS as if it were a fragile living thing.

"From your car. The one you drove just before you were shot."

"You took the time to search the car? I could have recovered faster…"

Griffin shook his head. "I went back afterwards. While you were sleeping."

"To Japan."

"Er… yeah."

"You must have a lot of frequent flyer miles saved."

Griffin laughed. "It's a long story."

Matto walked around unsteadily, looking at all Griffin's sketches and notes pinned up on the walls. He never turned his back on his benefactor.

"You should take it easy," Griffin advised.

"I'm ok. What's outside?"

"I think you should stay in for now."

Matto moved toward the lair's entrance.

Griffin barely suppressed the instinct to jump as he rushed to block Matto's progress. "I didn't think your wounds affected your hearing," he said sarcastically. "I said stay in."

Looking wary, Matto backed away. "Right…" he said quietly. "Don't get excited."

For some reason, Griffin felt uncomfortable. He normally didn't care what anyone thought of him at any time. But he didn't want Matto to be afraid of him, or to think he might have bad intentions toward him, or to think he was crazy.

"It's for your own good, Matto," he said. "I promise, I don't want anything to happen to you. You'll understand eventually." _I hope,_ he added silently.

"Sure. OK." Matto made his way back to the middle of the lair, still not turning his back on Griffin, and sat in the chair in front of the entertainment center.

_He seriously thinks I'm crazy and he's trying not to make me snap,_ Griffin realized. _Well… I guess it'll work for now, if it keeps him inside. He must think we're still in England, and he'll never believe it if he looks outside._

It took most of the day, but Griffin finally got Matto relaxed enough to play a video game with him. Griffin didn't play his best, making sure his guest outraced him three times out of five. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure he could have beaten him every time anyway. The kid was good.

"How long you been a gamer?" Griffin asked lightly after their last match.

Matto shrugged. "All my life, I guess. Always liked video games. Comes of being a perfectionist."

"What makes you say that?"

"You can play the same level over and over as many times as you like until you perfect it. Until you get every bonus point and shave your time down as much as possible. Then you go to the next one. Life's not like that. You only get one chance at everything."

Griffin smiled and shook his head. "You got a pretty good second chance at life, didn't you?"

Matto seemed to sober and Griffin wished he hadn't turned the conversation back to recent events.

"So, er… tell me more about this guy you're trying to catch."

"Kira? Near's probably got him by now. I hope."

"Who is Near?"

"Old classmate."

"You didn't like him?" Griffin guessed from Matto's tone.

"He was OK. What about the people you're after? What are they all about?"

Griffin knew Matto was trying to distract him, but he didn't mind just then. "They're all about killing me. And people like me."

"People like you?"

"Yeah. People like me have… certain abilities. Ones they don't think we've a right to have. Does that sound crazy?"

Matto set his game control aside. "I don't know. Kira can kill people anywhere in the world without touching them. I guess there may be other people out there with supernatural abilities."

_Careful,_ Griffin told himself. _If he ends up thinking I'm this Kira guy, he'll never trust me. Then again, it does sound like Kira could be a Jumper. Maybe I could help._ "Maybe I can help you."

"I'm not sure I can take anymore help from you," Matto said with a small smile.

"I mean with this Kira. That is, if Near doesn't have him yet. See, he sounds like he could have an ability similar to mine, like you say."

"Are you saying you could kill someone without being near them?"

"No, no, no," Griffin said quickly. "Couldn't do that. But if I wanted to, I could kill someone anywhere in the world in the next five minutes."

Matto looked intrigued, and a bit nervous. "Want to tell me how?"

"Not really. I mean, you think I'm a nutter as it is. And if I prove it to you, you'll prob'ly go off the deep end yourself. Besides—people who find out about us tend to get dead. Because of those guys." Griffin gestured to the sketches hanging on his walls.

"I _was_ dead. For all intents and purposes, I was. And you've told me too much to stop now. So you may as well tell me."

Griffin licked his lips. "You sure you want that big a shock just when you're recovering so nicely?"

"Spill it."

"Right. Nothing for it, then."

* * *

_Perhaps I don't really need to resort to such cliff-hangery to keep you reading, but I had to end it somewhere-and I'm just mean like that_ xD Please review if you like it.


	4. Tell All

_For those of you who have been waiting, another chapter! :) Sorry it's taking so long to update-real life and all. Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 4: Tell All

* * *

"I'm a jumper."

Matto stared.

Griffin persed his lips. "A jumper is… someone who can jump from one place to another."

"Teleportation?"

"Sort of."

"How?"

"Um… it's not really a science. I just see the place in my mind and sort of feel my way there. Can't really give you more detail than that. It's not the sort of thing there are words for."

Matto was eying him skeptically now. "Care to show me?"

"Might freak you out a bit."

"After coming as close to death as I have… I doubt much will scare me."

"OK…" Griffin jumped across the room. "See?" He jumped back. "Nothing to it."

Matto was silent.

"What you think?"

"I think… I think I might be sick."

"I warned you."

"I know. Sorry."

"If you retch in my Lair, I'll kill you. After you clean it up, that is."

"Right. I won't. Is that how you brought me here?"

Griffin nodded. "Yeah."

"How far did we go?"

"Well… we're not in England anymore, I'll give you that much."

"That's how you could just go back to my car in Japan."

"Yeah." Griffin waited, letting Matto think things over. He was catching on quick, and seemed to be recovering from his shock already.

"I see why you said you could kill anyone in the world within five minutes. You could even be Kira himself."

"Yeah, only I'm not, though. Doesn't Kira give people heart attacks? No idea how anyone could do that."

"Hmm. True… but Mello thought he had that pretty well figured out. It's a supernatural thing."

"Oh, of course," Griffin said sarcastically. "That explains everything."

Matto gave a small smile. "You don't believe me. Mello had determined that Kira needed to know a person's name and face in order to kill them. So if you could keep him from seeing your face, or from learning your real name, you were safe."

"So who is this Mello person and why isn't he with you?"

"He's… sort of my captain, you could say. And I think he's probably dead now."

In a way, Griffin was relieved. The fewer connections and attachments Matto had, the better.

"Are there other jumpers?" Matto asked suddenly.

"Sure. Don't really know them, though."

"If someone's trying to kill you, shouldn't you band together?"

Griffin shook his head. "No. First, easier said than done. You can't just find a jumper anytime you want to. They can be anywhere, and they'll be in another country a moment later. Impossible to track. Second… it's just not a good strategy. When things go wrong you start fighting among yourselves. And when you've got people on your side, it's just something else the Paladins can take away from you. It's better to work alone."

"Then… why am I here?"

"I dunno… moment of weakness? I liked your driving, remember."

Matto shook his head, looking slightly amused. "I think I might be able to help you. Tell me more about these Paladins."

* * *

It took over an hour. Griffin believed that the information he was revealing was far more important than the little things Matto told him about the orphanage where he grew up—but Matto seemed to think his information was more valuable, so he supposed they were even. When the conversation wound down, they both knew much more about each other than they had before.

"So this Roland guy," Matto said, looking at Griffin's sketch on the wall, "do you know where he is right now?"

Griffin shook his head. "Best way to find him is to find a jumper being stupid. Because that's what he's looking for. He won't be far away."

"Yeah, that makes sense. So, how do we find another jumper?"

"If we do find one, you're not going there. Got it?"

"Why not?"

"Because you'll get killed."

Matto shrugged. "I've pretty much gotten killed once already. I'll take my second chances."

"It's not a game. It's not for you. Roland likes to kill anyone who knows a jumper, especially family and friends. And you've got no way to defend yourself. You're not going."

"Whatever. So, how do we find one?"

"Oh, well, we put out an advertisement, of course," Griffin said sarcastically.

"I can watch the media for anything out of the ordinary," Matto offered.

"That's a start. I can check the usual places each day."

"Usual places?"

"Yeah. Sometimes a jumper will suddenly realize what he can do and he'll go a little crazy," Griffin explained. "He'll wanna try going to the south pole or the top of Mount Everest, or into a volcano. I find them in those spots every now and again."

"Are there a lot of jumpers in the world?"

"Hard to say. There seem to be a fair number, but they never come forward for a population poll, you know? And they don't usually band together because Roland would definitely go after a group first. More to kill all at once."

"You said electricity keeps you from jumping?"

"A big enough charge, yeah. Keeps us from doing much bloody else, too."

"So I should start carrying a tazer?" Matto said, smiling.

"Don't you dare."

"And you can take people with you when you jump… could you take someone anywhere?"

"I'm not a taxi," Griffin said quickly.

"Yeah, yeah. But it might be nice to go somewhere… You're not planning to keep me here forever, right?"

"Well… I hadn't planned much beyond this," Griffin admitted.

"Where are we, anyway? Can I have a look outside?"

"Might as well, I s'pose."

Griffin escorted Matto out to look at the sand-covered landscape.

"I see. I know exactly where we are," Matto declared.

"Yeah?"

"The middle of nowhere."

"Right. You're sharp."

"Want to show me some more of your jumping?"

"Yeah, ok. But I'm not a side show either, you know." Griffin jumped from place to place in Matto's surroundings, including high in the air at one point.

Matto didn't say much, but when Griffin came to a sliding stop in front of him (showering him with sand), he was grinning. "Looks like fun."

"You're not joking. It's the most fun thing in the world." Griffin smiled back at him. "Jealous?"

"Kind of. Yeah." Matto brushed sand off his clothes. "Don't suppose you'd take me around a little?"

"Well… if you promise to be good."

Matto raised an eyebrow. "Whatever."

Griffin stepped behind Matto and wrapped his arms around him. Matto gripped Griffin's forearms.

"Not scared, are you?" Griffin asked.

Matto shrugged. "Last time, I was blindfolded. It's bound to be different."

Without waiting for further discussion, Griffin jumped them to the top of a building in Japan, near the site of Matto's almost-execution. His aim was good—he landed right on the edge of the building. Matto, however, arrived just _past_ the edge of the building and slipped out of Griffin's grasp.

Griffin swore as he jumped to Matto's position halfway to the ground. He grabbed him and jumped back to the to the top of the building.

"I'm sorry, Matto," he exclaimed as Matto gasped for breath. Griffin could see that he was shaking. "I'm so sorry—I didn't mean it. I'd never let you fall." Suddenly, he realized that he was shaking, too. He was quite chagrined and unsettled. _What if he _had_ fallen? _He wondered. _Would it matter that much? Isn't it better not to have friends? _But Griffin couldn't make himself believe that the thought was sincere. He'd already started to like Matto. He hadn't let himself have a real friend for so long; it was kind of nice.

"It… it's ok," Matto told him. "I'm all right." But he was still shaking.

"You want to go back?" Griffin asked. He was starting to feel a little sick.

Matto hesitated. He looked around at their surroundings.

"I'm sorry," Griffin repeated, not knowing what else to say. He hadn't apologized to anyone for a long time either… he was out of practice.

"I… yeah… let's go back for now," Matto said.

"I swear it's not usually like that," Griffin told him as they moved into position to jump again. "I guess I'm not used to passengers. Now I'm on my guard I'll do better, I promise." He hoped Matto wouldn't be too afraid to trust him now.

Matto only nodded in answer.

Back at the lair, Griffin released Matto gently, as if he were something fragile that was likely to fall over and break. "You want to play a game or something?" he asked.

Matto shook his head. "I'm kind of tired. Mind if I sleep for a while?"

"Sure; I'll fix up the couch for you, if that's all right."

"I can sleep anywhere."

Sure enough, Matto had been lying on the couch only a few minutes when Griffin observed that his charge's stomach was rising and falling regularly and that Matto's hair was all hanging down over his closed eyes.

Griffin smiled a little at the innocent picture. _I wanna keep this one,_ he decided. _He's sort of a nobody anyway—Roland won't know about him. It'll be ok._ There were worries in the back of his mind, but he pushed them aside. For now, everything was all right.

* * *

_Enjoy it? Let me know. I live to hear what you think. I especially like finding out that people like the same stuff I like. xD Makes me feel less weird or something. lol_


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